


The Cure

by scarslikeconstxllations



Series: The Cure [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien turns into a monster, Cure, Death, East Side/West Side, F/F, F/M, Gore, He's still hot though don't worry, If I write sex I will only post it here, Mad scientist pretty much ruins the world, Marinette plays hero, Original Series, Plagg is Plagg, Plague, Plague that turns people into monsters, Romance, Scientists causes plague, Sensuality, Sickness, Tikki is a sweetheart, Violence, mature themes, probably no sex, thematic elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-06-22 00:44:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15569994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarslikeconstxllations/pseuds/scarslikeconstxllations
Summary: When a deadly virus begins to hit all the major cities in the world, a wave of sickness and panic spreads to every town and landmark. Soon, nearly the entirety of the human population is infected by what comes to be known as the deadliest virus in human history. In the city of Paris, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, her family, friends, and the remaining survivors fight against the plague. Paris is split in half; the East Side and West Side. The West Side is clean and safe of all infection, while the East Side is full of dangerous creatures that are no longer human.Five years prior, Adrien Agreste and ten other clean individuals went over to the East Side to look for a cure. No one had since heard from them until the fateful day when Marinette stumbles upon Adrien as he manages to save her from harm's way. Through the discovery, Marinette unlocks dangerous secrets that send her broken life spiraling into chaos even more than she thought was possible.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A.n. So this is the prologue of the story, which is rather short and kind of cringe in my opinion. But I'll post it anyway because it's kind of necessary?? Idk. Enjoy anyways! I have seven parts of this pre-written and the plot recorded so I can make more and publish them here as well as on Amino.

The people of Paris had become accustomed to a deadly, sickening quiet.

When the first wave of The Virus hit, it wiped out a good half of the population of the world. The Virus hit some of the most popular cities in the world first. Places like Tokyo, Paris, Los Vegas, LA, London, Berlin, Quebec, and so on. It swept like a deadly wave across the shores of the Earth, knocking out every living thing within a 10-mile radius of its path. Everyone thought that half the population was dead. However, that was far from the truth.

Everyone that became infected turned into a grotesque creature.

There were many different reactions. Fangs, fur, claws, an altered number of arms and/or eyes, enhanced speed, strength, agility, eyesight, and more. Colors of the skin ranged from clear to the pigment of the dark night sky. But the worst thing about The Virus wasn't what it did to one's physical appearance.

It was the hunger.

The hunger that came from deep within their souls. It started as an uncomfortable fuzzy feeling, one that's annoying but ignorable. Then it grew into something bigger, something monstrous and uncontainable.

It started in the pit of the stomach and clawed its way up their throats, scraping against their insides until they ached. It forced its way out their mouths and down across layers of skin or fur, scratching against their flesh until it felt like it was lit with a thousand flames. It swarmed through their blood until it felt like poison in their veins. The hunger turned to desperation, which turned them into true monsters. It wasn't an ordinary hunger.

It was the hunger for flesh and blood.

It devoured their minds and clouded their senses, making it impossible to tell right from wrong. But it wasn't their fault. They didn't choose to become this way. However, society didn't see it like that. They separated the two sides of every city. The East and the West. The Westside was where all the clean were. The East was where all the infected lie.

The borders between each of the two sides in every city are heavily guarded. The West side of every city is full of military bases, where everyone can reside safely. All the residents are trained to fight, to defend themselves and to protect the lives of others. Everything was going wonderfully according to plan.

Until the day that a group of eleven clean individuals went to look for a cure.

⚔

**The Eleven:**

• Cynthia Fleur

• Johnathan Fleur

• Rosalyn Parker

• Jenna Parker

• Adrien Agreste

• Nino Lahiffe

• Nathaniel Krutzberg

• Adrianna La'Point

• Genevieve McDavison

• Mason McDavison

• Andrew Nepal

⚔

These eleven individuals sacrificed their lives and their relationships with their loved ones to venture away from the West. They were looking for a pure white flower that was said to glow like the moon in the sky. The flower had special properties to cure any disease imaginable, even things that didn't yet exist. Legend said that such a flower can't be found, it must be earned. But nevertheless, The Eleven were sent to find it, the strongest in their ranks.

They never came back.

Everyone assumed that The Eleven were dead. Gravestones were placed at their district's cemetery, and a memorial was built in their honor. People went about their daily lives, only glanced at the memorial now and then. Roses dried up at the gravestones, as did the tears that used to be shed.

But five years later, the possibility emerges that they could very well be alive. And it sends the entire order established in Paris and the rest of the world into chaos.


	2. Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette reminisces about losing those close to her. Someone, or rather something, takes her by surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. So this is officially the first part of the journey! Hope you enjoy. A lot of background will be included because it’s necessary.

Marinette sat on the rooftop of an abandoned building, staring out at the rest of Paris. This was her secret spot. She could see everything from here, even close to the East Side. 

The East Side. That was where Adrien and eleven other clean members had disappeared. They were either infected or left for dead. Her heart clenched, and she stares up at the sky. Dark black clouds swirled in it. A storm was coming, and everyone back at the base was busy preparing. She hugged her knees to her chest. She was lucky to be alive, not just clean. More than half the world's population was affected by The Virus.

She stared up at the darkened sky, her kwami resting on her shoulder for comfort. Those poor innocent people . . . Hurt and alone. Or maybe dead. It was hard to tell with The Virus.

Rumour said it was only airborne on the East Side, but the real way to get infected now was to get turned by a creature that was already infected. It was a time-consuming process, but when you're bent on taking over the world, you don't mind.

Marinette cringed. That was wrong . . . She shouldn't be thinking that. The Infected were all innocent people, they didn't ask to be turned into monsters. Then again, what they were doing wasn't right. 

But it wasn't like they had much of a choice. 

It had been about five years since The Eleven had disappeared. Marinette's heart longed to see the faces of her friends once more. Adrien, Nino, Nathaniel . . . Her, Alya, and Chloe had cried for months afterward. But everyone around them seemed to have moved on.

All except Marinette.

She couldn't get their smiles out of her head. The brave faces they tried to put on as they hugged their family and friends for possibly the last time. 

Of course, it ended up being the last time.

Marinette stared up at the sky once more as a rumble of thunder echoed through the air. She needed to get back before the storm started. Rain wasn't just rain anymore. It was a sign of weakness for the West side. 

During the release of The Virus, all events of severe weather were all amped up to the extreme. A basic storm could last weeks or even months, causing dangerous floods and power outages. Everyone back at the base was busy preparing for the storm: stocking up on supplies, preparing security shifts, checking the generators, packing food, the list went on.

She stood up and stretched, the sore muscles in her back straining as she did so. She brushed the dirt from her pants and started to climb down the ladder that would take her off of the roof. Jumping down, she stepped out of the abandoned building, broken glass crunching underneath her boots. 

There was someone else who hadn't survived The Virus. 

Chat Noir. 

The thought brought tears to her eyes as soon as it came. Her best friend, her partner. He was gone. Either he was one of The Eleven, or he simply just didn't survive The Virus. He could be dead or trapped on the East Side. Or worse . . . Infected. 

She shuddered, quickening her steps until she was jogging through the trees. It had been hard to keep her secret in an apocalyptic city, but she managed. Everyone just thought that Ladybug was a lucky survivor. Marinette only transformed when she absolutely needed to. Hawkmoth didn't akumatize people anymore. Occasionally, one would show up, but it wasn't with as much vengeance as it used to be. 

If Hawkmoth got the ultimate power . . . he could make the world normal again.

The instant the thought came into her mind, she scolded herself. Why would she even suggest that?! This was a man who turned little kids and adults into supervillains. Why would HE want to help the world out? Then again, no one WANTS to live in the apocalypse, but still! Hawkmoth was evil. There's no way he had good intentions. 

Besides, with Chat gone . . .

Marinette stopped running, putting her hands on her knees and bending over slightly. The mention or thought of her former partner made an unwelcome ache form in her chest. Her eyes burned from unshed tears, as her breathing began to accelerate. 

No. This wasn't going to happen. Not here, not now. 

Scrambling to take control of her emotions, Marinette stood back up and took a deep breath. She tried to convince herself that it would be okay. Everything was fine. She had food, water, clean air, shelter, and a family. Everything was going okay. 

Except it wasn't. Nearly everyone she loved was gone. 

She sat down on the forest floor, against a tree. Hugging her knees to her chest, she let the first sob wrack her body. As a soldier in training, she wasn't allowed to cry. At least, not in front of anyone that is. 

The tears came quickly after that, washing any remains of dirt or dust off of her face. Her body shook terribly as she rocked back and forth, crying her heart out in the empty forest. 

Or at least, she thought it was empty. 

Through her heavy sobs, Marinette could just barely make out the unmistakable snap of a twig. She covered her mouth to muffle the remainder of her whimpers. A few scattered tears dripped down her cheeks as she waited with baited breath. 

Nothing. 

Letting out a sigh of relief, she stood up and stretched once more. Everyone needed a good cry every once and a while. It was nice to be able to let her feelings out. 

She began walking in the direction she had been heading before she broke down, back to her district's main base. As she took her first step, she heard a snap that her foot definitely didn't make.

Freezing in her tracks, Marinette closed her eyes. With her sight now gone, she became more aware of her surroundings in a different way. It was a strategy that she had learned at the base. 

Trying not to tremble, she didn't make a sound as another twig snapped behind her. This time, sounding much closer than the last. 

Suddenly, and unmistakeable growl was heard. 

Marinette's eyes snapped open, all too late. A panther, roughly the size of a small car, with dark black fur and golden eyes, had tackled her from behind. 

Screaming as the breath was torn from her lungs, Marinette attempted to flip herself over. With her back exposed to the terrifying creature, she was deemed helpless. She could feel it's hot breath on her neck as the drool from its large jaws slithered down her skin. The growling shook her body, and she let out a terrified scream. 

What was she doing? She should be playing dead! But with the animal on top of her, it could no doubt hear her heartbeat. 

She shouldn't have been so close to the border. This thing could be an infected animal, or an infected person taking the form of an animal. Either it was going to devour her flesh, or turn her into a beast.

She managed to turn her head to the side, enough where she could see a large branch in her line of sight. Struggling to get an arm out from under her, she waited for an opportunity to grab it. 

The panther wasn't patient. Growling again, it used a large clawed paw to swipe at her shoulder. Crying out in pain, Marinette shot her arm out from under her and grabbed onto the branch, swinging it backward with full force. 

The movement sent a searing pain through her already aching shoulder. The panther, taken by surprise, was thrown off balance. Marinette popped her shoulders back, using the remainder of her strength and some body weight to chuck it off of her. 

She jumped to her feet once she was free of its clutches. Whirling around so she was facing it, she narrowed her eyes. Blood ran down her injured shoulder, soaking the sleeve of her uniform. The panther licked its lips, watching the blood drip onto the forest floor. 

Marinette took the opportunity to whack the branch at its massive head. The panther growled, jumping back slightly. It wasn't enough. Dropping the branch, Marinette took off running. 

_There's no way you can outrun it._

The voice in her head was anything but encouraging. She pushed herself to run faster. She imagined a sergeant screaming at her, telling her to push herself to her limits. Her lungs burned like they were set afire, sweat soaking her now messy hair, which was flowing in the breeze behind her. Every vein in her body was alive with adrenaline. She could feel it like a poison taking over every fiber of her being. 

"Marinette!" Tikki cried from her breast pocket. "The whistle!" 

Marinette wanted to slap herself in the face. Of course, the whistle! Each soldier was given a whistle to blow when they were in danger. The sound would only carry so far, but the waves could be picked up as a signal on the monitors back at the bases. Someone would come to help her. Picking up the whistle, which was hidden under her shirt around her neck, she blew it with all her might.

The panther howled behind her, and she heard a thump as its body hit the floor. Since it had far better hearing that humans did, the whistle was probably a blow to its eardrums. 

Marinette didn't stop running, though. She continued sprinting through the trees, the adrenaline giving her the energy she needed to propel herself forward. 

_Almost there, almost there!_

There it was! She burst through the clearing, wincing as she was blinded by bright spotlights. 

"Soldier #1357, Marinette Dupain-Cheng please report to Base 4 for evaluating," the voice spoke from the speakers high above the city. 

Marinette winced, taking a few shaky steps forward. The rescue team was quick to drop down, rushing over with blankets, water, and a stretcher. Her shoulder ached significantly, the throbbing a reminder of her stupidity. 

She was going to pay for this later. 

⚔

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. What am I going to do with you?" The officer asked. 

"Uh . . . Let me off with a warning?" Marinette tried meekly. 

"NO!" He barked, and Marinette flinched back to avoid the flying spit. "You repeatedly break the rules! Do not, under any circumstances, go anywhere near the border. Do I make myself clear?" 

Marinette nodded. 

"Really?! Because you REPEATEDLY DISOBEY ME! You're putting me only yourself, but the rest of your squad and the whole city in danger! A.K.A THE HUMAN RACE! YOU ARE AN ENDANGERMENT TO HUMANITY, YOU HEAR THAT MISS CHENG?!" 

"Yes sir," Marinette squeaked out, hanging her head low. 

"Good," the officer seethed. "You're lucky you made it out with only some minor injuries. If that panther had been infected, you'd be a goner!" 

"In all seriousness, sir, not that this isn't serious," she said quickly, "how did the panther cross the border?" 

"To get to the other side," the officer said dryly. 

"What?"

"Nothing. The panther somehow slipped by our security systems. If something as meagre as that can happen, we need to bump up our ranks and increase security in that area. But if stupid little girls like you didn't go fishing around where you didn't belong, we wouldn't have so many problems!" He snapped. "Your punishment is three weeks on clean-up duty around the city. Now get out of my sight before I double the punishment." 

"Yes sir!" Marinette saluted, getting up so fast she almost tripped. She sprinted out of the room.

After the panther incident she was rushed to the infirmary, where she received a series of injections and tests. If she had been infected, they would have tossed her over the border into the East Side without hesitation. Or at least, that's what she believed. 

People claimed the infected went to a quarantined area until they could find the cure. Marinette didn't know what was worse, being trapped in a glass cage while people studied you or being released into the wild East, where she could be eaten within an hour. 

Thankfully the panther hadn't been infected. But since it wasn't, what was it doing so close to the border? And how had it managed to get past security? The forests weren't as heavily guarded, but it was still very sketchy. She would have to look into it later.

Right after she was done with clean-up duty. 

⚔

Adrien was cold. 

It wasn't just on the outside, the kind that made you shiver and want a warm blanket. It was also on the inside. It sank deep within his bones, settling there and leaving an icy imprint on his soul. 

It was cold and dark. That's how it always was these days. 

He had never felt so alone.

He wanted his friends back. He wanted to see their happy smiles, their sparkling eyes. He wanted to see the light of the West Side, where the air was clean and everyone always had enough resources. 

These days, he was hungry. The hunger wasn't that of an ordinary person, of an ordinary human. And he knew this. But he was terrified of giving in, terrified of becoming a monster. 

So he suppressed the hunger until it became too much. He would cry as loud as he wanted, as much as he wanted. No one would hear him out here. 

He was alone, cold, and hungry. 

He had never felt so empty and lost inside. 

He was transforming, a little bit each day. Losing a part of his humanity that he would never get back. It was like his brain was deteriorating, locking up his human memories and human ways in a place where he'd never be able to find him. His whole body was acting against him. The hunger pierced his stomach again, and he keeled over, whimpering pathetically. 

He was turning into a monster. 

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. The panther attack was a little taste of action for you. It can only get worse—I mean better—from here. :D Please leave kudos if you liked it so far! Thanks for reading.


	3. Clean-Up Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette goes to clean-up duty. Things get messy and well, rather bloody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Warnings for some blood mentioned. More gore and violence will show up soon, but I’m not really great at writing it so don’t expect it to be too bad.

Clean-up duty. How did she get so lucky?

It's, of course, important to note the sarcasm of that phrase. Clean-up duty wasn't anything to be excited about. 

It wasn't exactly what it sounded like, either. When hearing the name, one might think, "to clean up trash." But that couldn't be farther from the truth.

The border between the East and West sides was heavily guarded, always. Shift changes were fairly frequent to assure that the individuals in charge were always awake and aware. 

However, the border wasn't just a red line spray painted on the floor, or an invisible barrier between both sides. It was actually a rectangular (theoretically) section, that was a greyed area on all the maps. Therefore, the border wasn't a singular line but a whole section. 

That being said, the grey area that made up the border could get very messy. Messy with . . . waste. 

And by waste, it usually means dead organic matter. This came in multiple forms, including bodies, animals, plants, etc. Of course, there's also the occasionally broken down building that crumbled recently. 

For these reasons, in particular, Marinette was NOT looking forward to cleaning up the border. It was grueling, and not to mention dangerous. There was the risk of infection, getting eaten, inhaling something deadly or having debris crush you. Many people had ended up paralyzed that way. 

Their job was supposed to be simple: Get in, check for abnormalities, clean up some waste, and get out. 

It never was. 

Marinette's thoughts ran wild like a whirling tornado as she squeezed into her uniform. The tight-fitting spandex was covered in a layer of flat plastic beads, tiny and clustered along the material like dewdrops. It was designed to keep out infection. This was only the first layer, however. 

She began slipping on the top coat, which was a gas mask equipped with a headpiece and high-tech goggles, electronic wrist cuffs that were used for a number of different purposes, various leg cuffs (each having their own purpose), a weapon and tool belt, a holster for guns that went across her back, electronic gloves, and heavy-duty metal boots. All in all, she looked like a robot princess.

Slipping on the last of her gear, she fumbled with her headpiece to turn it on. 

"Testing: one, two. Can you hear me, soldier?" A male voice spoke through the earpiece. 

"I hear you, soldier. Are we all set for duty?" Marinette spoke back. 

"All systems go. Meet in section 3.446 so we can start the operation."

"Copy that."

Adjusting her earpiece, she headed out of the lockers to the main foyer. Passing the security desk, she nodded at the guard and swiped her entry card along the elevator doors. The slot beeped and flashed green, and she stepped into the threshold and punched a few buttons. 

After a few moments, she stepped onto the first floor and made her way to the base she was supposed to meet the others at.

The units were being lined up by ID. A sergeant came by and scanned Marinette's ID card, and told her the position she was supposed to stand in. Taking her place in between two bulky soldiers, she mentally sighed. Why did she always have to be the smallest in her rank?

One of the soldiers next to her turned her head slightly. Through her darkened goggles, Marinette could see that she was being looked up and down. Why must she be judged by everyone? 

Refusing to look her in the eye, Marinette straightened her back and stood to her full height. Fighting her inner frustration, she waited for instructions. 

"Attention all units on clean-up duty," a voice spoke over the intercom. "Please move forward, starting with row one. We will be assigning your locations as needed."

The soldiers in row one began marching forward, receiving their locations as they reached the trucks that would take them to the border. Eventually, it was her row's turn, row 23. Marching in sync with the others, she boarded the back of the truck. The metal doors were closed, and everyone began taking off their mask and relaxing their stances. 

The gruff looking girl next to her whipped off her mask and shook out her bright red hair. Marinette eyed her warily. To her left, a tall, broad man took off his mask. He had a long scar running from his left eye down his cheekbone, barely skimming his defined jawline. Marinette quickly looked away. 

Everyone also slid up their goggles, except for Marinette. As soon as they saw her, they'd know who she was. The girl who broke the rules, who crossed the border when she wasn't supposed to. They'd instantly mock her short height and tiny body. 

"What's the matter, Princess? Are you not going to remove your helmet so we can get a look at your scrawny face?" The red-haired girl teased. 

"Yeah, come on. Show us that baby face of yours," a dark-haired guy snickered from the back. 

"Leave her alone," the boy with the scar chided. "If she doesn't want to remove her gear, she doesn't have to."

The red-haired girl scoffed at this. "Freak," she hissed, loud enough for Marinette to hear it. 

Frowning, she wrapped her arms around herself and looked away. 

The awkward mood was broken by the sounds of crunching gravel. A horn was honked, their warning to put their gear back on. Everyone began slipping on their masks and goggles and turned on their earpieces. 

"All soldiers get ready to enter the premises," the voice spoke in their ears. 

"Copy that," they all chanted in unison.

Soon enough, the screeching of tires was heard as the car pulled to a stop. A series of doors were slammed, followed by heavy footsteps. A sergeant soon opened the double doors that separated them from the outside world. 

"All units report for duty to your assigned sections. Please turn on your masks, goggles, and refrain from disabling your headpiece for the remainder of your mission. You may now start." 

And that was the only advice they got before being thrust into the border. 

⚔

Marinette didn't know what to expect. Sure, she'd been close before, but this . . . This was ridiculous. 

The amount of destruction was inconceivable. 

Her and her squad passed pile after pile of rubbish, all formerly important buildings. And worst of all, there were skulls. Bones. Human remains. 

Marinette was the first to stumble across one. She had been warned, but she had never expected a sight to this magnitude. 

A family, a spouse clutching their small child. The other spouse had their arms wrapped around their partner, so they formed a line. All turned to bone, buried in a pile of rubbish. 

Marinette staggered back, a pitiful sob leaving her throat. It was especially audible through the mask, and a few people mocked her. But they all shut up instantly when they met her gaze. 

The family was mercilessly killed. Murdered by a world that was too horrid to hold such innocent people. Innocent people such as these. Of course, these same people were also the ones to make it this way in the first place. 

Marinette supposed it was fate's cruel way of revenge. But she still couldn't help but wonder . . . What had this family been like? Was it a man and a woman, two women, or two men? Was their child a toddler, had they lived to see their fifth birthday? Were they all happy together? What had they been doing at the time of their deaths? 

Shaking her head, she stumbled back. "Someone else can take care of that," she said, her voice shaky and uncertain. 

"We're not picking up your slack—" someone attempted to argue. 

"I said, SOMEONE ELSE CAN TAKE CARE OF IT!"

Silence fell once more. No one dared argue for the remainder of their time. 

⚔

Adrien was a monster. That's all he would ever be. 

He thought as much as he used his long fangs to tear away the flesh of a baby bird. It had suffered greatly, it's tiny blue wings flapping pitifully as he crushed it with his claws. He was disgusted to discover the intense pleasure and satisfaction he received at feeling its body go limp in his hands. 

Blood dripped from his chin onto the floor, like red tears. His fangs glinted in the light that filtered through the crack of the room he was in. 

He had taken shelter in an abandoned supermarket. It seemed like the ideal place to find canned goods and hygienic supplies. However, upon arriving a few nights ago, Adrien had discovered the horrifying revelation that he no longer had a taste for human food. 

Technically that was a lie. He had a taste for it when he was in his more humanized form. When he was as he was now, almost a full-fledged beast, he didn't have any thought of human goods in his mind. 

Except for human flesh. That was one exception. 

Reaching up to tug angrily at one of his curved black horns, Adrien hissed in distaste. The baby bird was not enough to satisfy the growing hunger inside of him. It snarled like an enraged animal inside the cage that was his stomach, a fire begging to be quenched. 

Years ago, he had been sent on a mission to find a flower. One simple flower that could hold a cure to millions of people. 

If millions were still alive, that is. 

On the East Side alone, there were probably that many creatures. But of the human civilization. . . Adrien didn't know. 

He recalled the moment where everything went wrong, where his fate was cruelly twisted and turned into something dark and unwanted. 

On the way across the border, his team was involved in a horrible accident. They were ambushed by animals and creatures from the East Side. Somehow, they had managed to cross the border and had run straight into The Eleven. 

Taken off-guard and severely injured, The Eleven were torn apart. They were tortured brutally and dragged over the border. They were separated, infected, and left to die. 

Adrien remembered the excruciating pain of being turned. It still haunted his nightmares, made him awaken mid-slumber with a cold sweat and trembling limbs. The feeling of a deadly poison swarming through your veins, consuming what's left of your humanity. 

Adrien shuddered at the mere thought. All the blood . . . He had been lucky to survive the process.

Or was he even considered lucky? Maybe he should have died. That way, he could have avoided all the awful things he'd done. The people and animals he's brutally murdered. 

The taste of human flesh . . . of human blood. It was something Adrien would never forget. His first kill had been an accident, one where he had completely lost control. It was both the best and worst feeling of his entire life.

The rush of emotions when he first pounced still haunted him. The control, the power. The hunger. The rich sweet taste pouring down his throat—

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he discarded the bones of the baby bird. It wasn't satisfying enough. Nothing ever was. 

Suddenly, he felt compelled. Standing up, he half-crawled to the broken glass doors and climbed his way out. His transformation began to start, his bones and muscles shifting to accommodate his human-like form. 

He fell to his knees, a blood-curdling scream leaving his lips as he crouched on the dusty ground. The scream traveled for miles, being amplified by Adrien's supernatural form. 

It was a sound like no other. 

⚔

Marinette dropped the aluminum can she was holding, startled. The shrill screech had come from the left, echoing along the walls of the crumbled buildings. 

Everyone in her squad turned to look at each other, all wondering the same thing: What the h*ll was that?

Chills running along her arms and legs underneath her suit, Marinette shivered. The hair on the back of her neck was at attention, telling her something was wrong. 

"What was that?" The guy with the scar asked. They weren't required to know each other's names. 

"Like hell if I know," a brunette girl scoffed. Her dark her came nearly to her waist. Marinette was surprised they hadn't cut it off yet. 

"Let's get back to work, we're almost done," another boy spoke up. 

Marinette began climbing over fallen chunks of debris, trying to get to her next designated area. She slipped a few times, catching herself just in time. 

Suddenly, there was movement out of the corner of her eye. Whipping her head in its direction, she instantaneously pressed the scanner button on her goggles. A laser light lit up, scanning the scene for body heat. There was none. 

Frowning, she began moving forward again. Then, she saw the movement once more. This time, a soft crunching sound was heard. 

"Guys?" Marinette's voice rang out in the empty building, wavering the slightest. "I'm sensing movement over here—" she barely got to finish her sentence. 

Turning the corner, she screamed as loud as she could. 

A dark, shadowy figure was leaning over what appeared to be the body of a bloody animal, too beaten up to tell what exactly it was. The figure froze, its body hunched. Then, it raised its head to attention and whipped it around to face her, crunching bones in its neck snapping as it did so. 

Two beady black eyes blinked at her, amid charred, blackened flesh. Slippery black blood ran down its face. It opened its mouth, exposing four rows of sharp, bloody teeth. 

It howled, a wail like that of a banshee. Marinette felt her bones shake with the force of the scream, and she flew backward. Screaming again herself, she tried to flee the scene. However, her boot became stuck under a chunk of cement. 

Any other time, Marinette would have laughed at the cliche nature of the situation. But this was no time for laughing. 

She was trapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Sorry about the cliche situation. Please leave kudos if you liked this! As always, thanks for reading.


	4. Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette fights with a horrifying creature. Injured and narrowly escaping death, a certain someone comes to her aid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Warnings for some gore and violence. Also, we meet a cinnamon roll and have our first real interaction! -squeal-

Marinette was petrified.

Struggling to remove her boot, she evaluated the situation she was in. She was trapped, her foot caught under heavy debris. There was no way to get her boot off, because it was on too tight. There was a creature, with four rows of fangs and a wail like a banshee, that had just slaughtered an animal and had been in the process of devouring it. She had interrupted its meal, and it was no doubt very pissed. She was more than likely the next target.

Screaming again as loud as she could, Marinette shook her leg with all of her might. Frustratedly, she reached behind her back and pulled out a laser gun. Charging it up and aiming it at the creature, she pulled the trigger. A beam of light the color of neon pink headed straight towards it.

What Marinette hadn’t counted on was this thing’s speed. Letting out another bone-rattling wail, it dodged her attack and was suddenly inches from her face. Marinette opened her mouth to cry out again, but the words died on her tongue.

With the creature being so close to her, she could smell its rotting flesh. It had a chilly aura to it as if it carried a bit of a deadly cold winter deep within its disheveled form. Large fangs dripped with blood and blackened saliva from its many rows of teeth. A long, dark curtain of dirty black hair protruded from its ashen scalp like a shadowy curtain. Its eyes were the worst, hollowed-out black voids, blinking vertically at her. There were three of them. 

Long black claws reached out towards her, grasping the gun that she held. It crushed the gun with just one hand, tossing the remains behind them. Marinette attempted another scream, but it clamped a charred hand over her mouth before she could do so. 

_“Pretty things must die . . .”_

It hissed in her ear. Its icy cold breath caused an array of shivers to run down Marinette’s spine. The trembling girl let out a pathetic whimper, almost completely frozen in fear.

Another claw ran down the base of her spine, and that was the final straw. Using her good leg to kick it in the stomach, Marinette whipped out her other gun and began shooting with all her might.

This time, she managed to hit its right shoulder. Screeching in aggravation, the creature lunged for her and swatted at the gun. 

_“Die, pretty thing, die!”_

“In your dreams, sucker!” Marinette seethed, shooting more laser beams. 

The gun was eventually whacked out of her hand, so she had to resort to more desperate matters. Grabbing a powder bomb from her belt, she threw it at the creature. 

The thing moved too quickly though, swatting it out of the air. It caused the bomb to fall in between them, going off and spraying both of them with the white powdery substance inside.

Both her and the creature cried out as the substance stuck to their eyes, making them burn and their vision blurry. At least, Marinette’s did. Scrubbing furiously at them, she tried to regain her vision.

The creepy figure grinned then, exposing all four rows of bloody teeth. She couldn’t see, therefore she was vulnerable. Crawling over to her on all fours, it wretched her leg free of its confines. 

Screaming in pain, Marinette’s cry was then silenced as a dirty hand was clamped again over her mouth. Whimpering into it, Marinette felt tears of pain slide down her cheeks.

The creature began dragging her across the ground. Her injured leg bounced with the movement, and it sent a fiery burst of agony through her nerves. She continued to let out muffled screams as she was dragged away from the scene. 

_”Pretty things must die. Time to eat pretty thing. Such warm blood, pretty thing has. Such a nice heartbeat.”_

Marinette finally felt her body being painfully deposited on the ground. Pressing her hands onto it, she felt dirt meet her palms. Where was she?

Her vision was still gone, and she had no idea where she was. Both of her guns were gone, and she was now injured. What would she do, how could she get out of this situation?

An idea occurred to her as the creature began removing her weapons. Waiting for just the right moment, Marinette thrust her good knee into its stomach, which was leaning over her body. It was aimed in just the right direction.

Screeching, the creature was thrown off of her. Marinette rolled in the opposite direction, pushing herself up on her elbows and crawling away. Claws grabbed her ankle, yanking her backward. Kicking with all her might, she attempted to wrench free of its hold. Her attempts were futile. 

"Help me!" Marinette screamed, hoping the members of her team would hear her. 

She heard a rumbling noise then and saw a plume of dust start to rise near her. A decaying building, with five stories still standing, was beginning to crumble. She watched helplessly, her vision blurry, as the creature threw her towards the building. Crashing on the ground, she rolled in the dust and dirt until she finally came to a stop. She could barely manage a groan of pain as the building's supports finally gave, the cement blocks coming tumbling from the sky and heading straight for her. 

⚔

Screaming. 

Adrien's head shot up. He was mid-transformation, still human with sharper teeth, claws, and blackish eyes. Willing himself to get up, he rose to his feet and sprinting in the direction of the screaming. 

Pain from his transformation coursed through his tired body, but he pushed on. His enhanced speed brought him to the middle of the border. He saw smoke and dust floating through the air, and it appeared that there was a fresh pile of rubble. One of the buildings must have collapsed again. 

He heard someone cry in pain and slid to a stop by a particularly large pile of rubble. He crawled across the top of the pile and peered down, seeing a body with dark hair lying underneath, particularly buried. 

The girl looked young, by her body type, but she had the figure of a woman. Adrien guessed she was in her early twenties. She was wearing a suit that looked vaguely familiar to Adrien, but he couldn't put his finger on why. 

Her hair covered her face, so her features weren't recognizable. Adrien inhaled sharply, able to smell the blood coursing through her veins, some spilling onto the floor because of her wounds. 

A small cough came from her, which led to a coughing fit. The girl pushed herself up on trembling elbows—banged up badly—into a sitting position. Her face was streaked with dirt, so it was impossible to pick out her features. She took one look at Adrien and screamed, so loudly that he thought the buildings around them would shake. 

Scooting backward with terrified whimpering, she put her arms in front of her face. Adrien could see that her leg had a particularly large slash on it, that was heavily bleeding. Her ankle looked bent out of shape. 

He didn't trust his voice to speak, afraid that he would sound inhuman. Putting his hands up in defense, he took a step back. He cleared his throat, taking in her injuries with his changing eyes. He couldn't tell if she knew he was one of the Infected or a lucky survivor. Either way, she needed help, for she looked to be losing a lot of blood.

Adrien's eyes drifted to the wound on her leg, watching as the blood dripped from it like bright red raindrops. He swallowed thickly, worried that he might attack her before he could help her. 

"I won't hurt you," he spoke slowly, his voice sounding deeper than usual. It was an effect of the transformation. 

The girl didn't respond. Instead, an arm inched away from her face, and slowly towards something on her belt. Adrien barely managed a shout before she lunged at him, a long dagger gripped in her fist. 

Pinning him to the floor, they rolled a few paces until they bumped into a large cement block. In a fit of rage and pure survival, the girl began stabbing at any part of his body she could reach. 

Adrien dodged them fluidly, waiting until she took a breath to flip her over. He pinned her arms above her head, trying to take the dagger. 

"Give it to me," he ordered when she refused to let it go. 

"Go to hell," she spat, spitting blood in his face. 

Chuckling, Adrien wiped his face with a hand, showing off that he could pin her down with only one arm. The transformation had left him the opposite of weak. He was stronger than ever before and would be even stronger if it wasn't for the hunger. "That's funny," he said dryly, "I thought I was already here. Until I saw you, of course. What's an angel like you doing in a place like this?" he asked smoothly. 

The girl thrashed in his grip. "Let me go!" she screamed, her voice appearing hoarse from the screaming. 

"Promise to give me the dagger?"

"No."

"Then I'm not letting you go," Adrien said firmly. 

"You have to!" she ordered, tears springing into her eyes. "I-It's still here!

Adrien furrowed his brow in confusion. "What's still here? What are you doing out here any—" his question was cut short as he was suddenly lifted in the air and thrown against a pile of concrete. 

The girl's screaming intensified as a large dark creature loomed over her weak body. She attempted to stab it with the dagger, ever the fighter, but the creature grabbed her wrists with its clawed hand and squeezed. Adrien heard a crunch with his enhanced hearing, and a painful scream left her lips. 

Springing to his feet, he grabbed a block of cement and threw it at the creature, effectively knocking it down. The girl retracted her hand, pulling it to her chest with a broken sob. She was now bare of all weapons, completely vulnerable. What was she to do with only one hand to fight? 

She watched helplessly as Adrien threw heavy blocks at the creature. It hissed and yowled in pain, letting out anger banshee wail. The girl cowered, hiding her head in her knees at the sound. 

The creature tackled Adrien while he was distracted by looking at her. It pinned him down, opening its mouth and exposing it's four rows of sharp teeth. Whacking his head into its own, the creature screamed and flew back. If this was what Adrien thought it was, its head would be its weakness. Their skulls were fragile and clear under their dark curtain of hair, not meant for damage. 

Grabbing a smaller piece of cement, Adrien whacked it on the ground until it resembled a point. Stalking over to the wounded creature, he pinned it down and smashed the rock at its skull. It's body stilled instantly. 

Heaving breathlessly, he stood to his full height. Now looking more powerful and dominating than ever, he walked over to the wounded girl. He squatted down beside her beaten and bruised form, offering her a small smile. 

"You're alright," he assured her, his voice sounding more human. "It’s okay. It would help if I knew your name, and why you're out here. Also, what's with the suit? Not many people come to the border."

The girl didn't answer him, breathing heavily and avoiding his gaze. Finally, she looked up at him. "Why did you save me?" Her voice and bottom lip quivered. "You could have killed me, stole my clothes. Why didn't you? Are you still planning to?" Her voice rose as she asked each question. "Are you one of the infected? How are you still alive?!"

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down!" Adrien attempted, holding his hands out in protest. "Answer my question, and I'll answer some of yours. But first, you need something to wrap those with," he motioned to her wrist, which she had clasped to her chest, and her ankle. 

She gazed weakly at him, and Adrien could feel the fight draining from her. He cautiously sat down closer to her, ripping off a piece of fabric from his torn shirt to secure around it. 

"Give me your hand," he ordered, and she shook her head quickly in protest. "Give it to me, I need to wrap it." She shook her head again, and Adrien clenched his fists. "Give it to me d*mmit!" He finally yelled, and he watched a spark of fear flash in her eyes. 

Hanging her head, she reluctantly pulled her injured wrist away from her chest and held it out to him. 

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" He placed her wrist in his lap and gently began to wrap it. He secured the band, his fingers gingerly rubbing the soreness from it. He did the same with her ankle. To his dismay, he watched tears well up in her eyes, and she began to cry. 

He wrapped an arm around her, listening to the soothing sound of her heartbeat. "How about I answer your questions first?" he offered. "My name is—" 

A gunshot was sounded, and then a whistle blew. The piercing sound echoed for miles, and Adrien felt the girl's body tense. "My squad," she choked out, going into a coughing fit again. 

Adrien quickly patted her back to cease it. "Your friends whistle for you?" he asked, confused. 

"I need to go," the girl said urgently, her face pale. "Please, please let me go." 

Adrien realized with a start that he was still holding her. Reluctantly letting go of her tiny form, he watched as she struggled to her feet, wincing when she put pressure on her wounded ankle. She gave him an unreadable expression. 

"Why did you help me when you could have let me die? Who are you? How are you alive?" she whispered, her voice no louder than a whisper in the wind. 

"I'd like to know the same thing," Adrien answered. 

She looked so familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on why. Standing up so he was towering over her again, he pressed a hand to her cheek. She flinched. 

"It's been so long since I've seen a . . . another person," he corrected. 

"I don't know why you saved me, but thank you," the girl breathed. "I have to go . . ." She backed away then, limping. 

Adrien took note of how injured she was. "You can't go back like that," he insisted. "I can fix you up, I know a place." 

The girl shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'll be back, to thank you properly," she finished.

Adrien never got to fathom what that statement meant because in the next instant she was gone. 

⚔

Marinette sat in the infirmary, her eyes empty and unfocused. She stared at the wall in front of her, picturing the creature's sharp teeth and rotting flesh. 

The nurse had cleaned her cuts, cast her wrist, and stuffed her with meds and fluids. She lay on her side, with an I.V. shoved in her arm. The nurse had also diagnosed her with PTSD since she had been breaking out into small outbursts ever since the incident.

Her squad members had found her after she made it to the sound of the whistle. The boy with the scar was in the office with her, because he had gotten wounded by an animal. Someone was also quarantined after apparently being suspected of being Infected. 

That was another thing. She had been tested a million times in the past few hours since she'd gotten back. When they confirmed she was clean, they finally proceeded to clean her wounds and shove her in the health wing.

Her head filled with thoughts of the boy who has saved her life. He was familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on why. His blonde hair, his chiseled form. How has he been surviving all this time? If he was Infected, he surely would have killed her. Why was he so strong? How had he managed to take on the creature that nearly ate her?

Shuddering, she could hear the whisper of the scratchy voice in her ear. Shaking in her thin mint green nightgown, she pulled her knees to her chest and stared at her socks. She needed to go back to thank him for saving her life. If he was a lost survivor, she could bring him supplies until she knew he wasn't Infected, and then she could take him back here. 

A door opened, and footsteps sounded on the linoleum floor. She was suddenly crushed into a hug. 

"Can't breathe!" She choked out. 

"Sorry girl!" Alya apologized with a weak smile. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "When I heard what happened, I couldn't wait to get down here to see you. You're lucky to be alive!" she exclaimed. "How did you get away from that thing anyway?" 

Marinette cringed. She couldn't tell Alya about the boy . . . Could she? Biting her lip, she looked into the eyes of her best friend. "Someone rescued me," she said softly. "A blonde haired boy, about my age, maybe older. He was strong, healthy-looking, and clean other than a few bits of dust from the air. How you ask? I don't know. He wouldn't answer my questions. His eyes were a deep green, so dark they were almost black. I questioned if he was Infected, but he ignored me. And why would he have saved me if he was? I promised to go back and thank him . . . He said he hadn't seen another person in a long time," Marinette explained. 

Alya's jaw was to the floor, hanging onto her every word. "Tell me everything, starting right from when you got separated from the group," she ordered, sitting by her on the bed. 

Marinette obliged, and began her story. 

⚔

As Adrien washed the dirt from his trembling form, he thought of the girl whom he'd saved. 

She was so familiar . . . That dark raven hair, with a blue shine. Those bluebell eyes . . . Her blood smelled intoxicating. Adrien was surprised he hadn't tried to attack her. 

He ran a hand through his wet blonde locks, letting the water from the shower cascade down his skin. He had managed to create a self-made shower using the water pump in one of the bathrooms. He was lucky to have found this store. 

Plugging the pump to stop the flow of water, he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked to one of the boarded up windows. Through a tiny crack, he could see the dust tumbling through the air, practically like solid bricks. He could just make out the line of the border.

"Who are you?" he whispered. He was making it his goal to find out. She would be back, hopefully, tonight. And maybe, he could finally get some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Please leave kudos if you liked this! As always, thanks for reading.


	5. A Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A scientist goes mad, and some light is shed upon the origin of The Virus. Marinette finally is able to meet up again with the boy who saved her life, and this time she has gifts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Hey everyone. :) Some background is given about The Virus, and Marinette begins to re-acquaint herself with Adrien. Of course, she doesn't know that it's him, but she recognizes that he's familiar! I can't wait for you to read it.

**__**

**_Setting: A laboratory. It's nighttime, and the room is bathed in darkness. In walks a man, wearing a dark suit. To the left, at a lab table, someone in a white coat is mixing toxins._ **

**  
**

"Sir," the man in the dark suit said, walking forward. "We've received the result of the recent tests."

The man in the lab coat stands at attention, now intrigued. "Interesting. What are they? Give me some good news."

The man rubs the back of his neck. "Uh . . . I wish I could, sir. They came back positive."

The man in the white coat narrows his eyes to slits. In the darkroom, they look almost dangerous. "Positive for what, exactly?" he asks slowly.

The man in the dark coat swallows nervously. "Positive for Toxins X, Y, and Z."

"BLASPHEMY!" the man in the lab coat spits, smashing his fist on the table. The resulting force causes a vile to spill, burning the table with acid. It dissolves into a beaker, which spills out onto the floor.

"Now look what you've done!" the man in the dark coat cries, turning to flee. The area was highly toxic, and he hadn't worn his mask.

"Oh no you don't," the man in lab coat hisses, grabbing his arm and throwing him to the floor. "I bet you've been rigging the tests," he said with a snarl. "Making sure the formula is never developed. Well, guess what? I don't need your approval," he chuckled darkly. A green mist started to fill the room as the chemicals began to combine.

"Let me go!" the other man cried. "Your sick population control scheme won't work! I won't allow it!"

The man in the lab coat smiled wryly. "Who said you would be around to stop me?" With that, he broke the beaker over the man's head. Screaming as the acid and chemicals washed over his face, the other man writhed on the floor. The man in the lab coat whistled to himself as he left the room, closing and locking the door.

"Nothing will stop me now," he said with a smile.

⚔

Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Marinette had seen the mysterious boy who saved her.

She had promised to go back that night, but she had been scared. He had saved her the first time, but she was injured and vulnerable. It wasn't the time to be sneaking out.

She was planning on going tonight. But the fear that the boy wouldn't want her to come back made her hesitant. What if he was angry with her?

She paced back and forth. She was trying to think of something to bring him. Her leg was nearly healed, due to the intense treatment she had received on the bones and muscles. She was wearing a slim, electronic cast. The silver metal glinted in the light as she moved. Soon, she would be able to take it off.

Shaking her head, she stopped her senseless pacing and stared at the mirror in front of her. The concrete box that had been her room since her injuries were beginning to feel like a prison. There were no windows, a single metal door, and no one to talk to.

However, Alya came to visit her frequently. She was here during her treatments, to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay. Marinette had never met a better friend, with such a pure heart. She would always cherish their friendship.

Staring at the metal door on the far side of the room, Marinette checked the large digital clock above it. The neon green numbers mocked her, reminding her of someone she used to know. The clock read 6:30, meaning that she had an hour and a half exactly before curfew.

Everyone in the infirmary or sick ward was given a curfew of eight o'clock on the dot. Technically speaking, she wasn't allowed to be out at all, not with her leg like this. But she owed it to the boy who saved her, to give him something in return.

It was a policy she had adapted herself but learned from her mother.

"Whenever someone does something to help you, no matter how big or how small, never stop showing how grateful you are."

Pressing a hand to her chest to stop the sudden ache forming there, she grabbed her satchel and crept towards the door. She had disconnected the camera temporarily, putting it on a footage of her sleeping from last night. (There were perks to having a dad who secretly knew a lot about technology.)

The metal door opened with a hiss, and Marinette cringed. She imagined someone on the other side seeing her, and the consequences she would face. She would have to be extremely careful.

Poking her head out into the hallway, she saw that it was empty. The smell of sterile products and rubber filled the air. The shiny white flooring reflected the dim lighting of the area. Satisfied that the coast was clear, Marinette crept out of the room and runs down the hall, as fast as she can with her cast.

⚔

"You owe me big time for this one," the soldier at the transit says. He didn't know where Marinette was going, only that she was leaving without permission.

"I have an idea of how I can pay back my debt," Marinette said firmly. "But for the record, thanks."

The soldier grunted in reply as she hopped in the back of the truck. "I'm picking you up at 7:30, on the dot. If you're not there, I leave without you. Am I making myself clear?"

Marinette saluted. "Crystal."

Then the door slammed in her face. After a few moments, the truck begins to drive.

⚔

Marinette gave herself a pep-talk the whole way there. Little things like, "Come on Mari, you've got this. All you have to do is thank him for saving your life, and give him the supply bag." She was pretty sure the driver thought she was mentally unstable. Then again, she was going to the border after dark. She claimed to the soldier that she was going stargazing at her spot in the woods. All she had to do was wait for him to leave, and then she could run to the border.

Nerves buzzing, Marinette listened as the car engine stopped. The driver walked out, boots crunching on the leaves, and unlatched the truck door.

"Your stop," he said, inclining his head in the direction of the densely wooded area surrounding them. "Still think you're crazy, but whatever helps you sleep at night."

Marinette beamed thankfully at him as he helped her out of the truck. "You'd be right to think that then," she nodded, smiling at him. "I'll see you at 7:30."

"No later!" He called as she began climbing through the underbrush. "I'll leave you stranded if you aren't here on time, yah get that?"

"Oh trust me, I'm aware," Marinette called back as she disappeared out of sight.

As she began clawing her way to a clearing, she realized a huge problem.

The stranger she had met a few weeks ago didn't know to be meeting her. Where would she find him? She couldn't cross the border alone! Groaning at her stupidity, Marinette leaned against a tree. What was she to do now?

The cry of an owl shakes her out of her self-pitying state. Jumping, she looks up to see it watching her with curious eyes.

"Strange," she murmured. "I don't remember there being owls in Paris . . ." Then again, there weren't panthers roaming free either. It all changed once the virus was released. Marinette had yet to figure out why.

After eyeing the creepy owl for long enough, she checked her watch. 6:43, the glowing green numbers read. She wouldn't be able to find the boy from earlier, but she had to try. Pushing off the tree, she started walking again, moving silently through the trees. After a short while, she came to a clearing, which led to the border.

Walking forward, she stared at the dusty rubble that greeted her. She was wrong to think the boy would be here today. How would he have known she was coming? It's not like he waited every day for three weeks for her to show up. Sighing, she sat down on a boulder and stared at the darkened sky.

⚔

Adrien waited.

For three whole weeks, he waited.

Each day was the same since he had seen her. Filled with hope, and then swept aside by the cold harsh reality of his loneliness. She wasn't going to come back.

Staring out the window at the twilight sky, Adrien sighed. She was the only human being he had seen in who knows how long. His eyes roamed to the scratches he left on the walls. They were tally marks. There was a time when he would count down the days to his own death. He still continued the tallies, but for a different reason.

He wanted to see his friends again.

But he knew they didn't want to see him. He was an Infected person, a monster. He wasn't the Adrien they had once known. Were they even alive? Adrien had long since forgotten the location of the bases, an effect of the transformation. Finding them would be impossible.

Unless . . .

The girl at the border . . . her uniform had looked familiar, as had her face. What if she knew his friends? What if she knew his old home? She had to have come from the base, with a uniform like that.

Making up his mind, Adrien stood and slipped on a sweater. He would go and find her like he has been trying since the day he saved her. If she was planning on keeping her promise, she had to show up eventually.

⚔

Marinette didn't know how long she stayed on the boulder, but she must have dozed off. When she came to again, she was half lying on her back, her leg in an awkward position. She vaguely registered the crunch of footsteps across the rubble and was instantly at attention.

Sitting up fully, she attempted to dislodge her leg from the dusty crevice and stand to her full height. But her body had other plans, and she found herself unable to move the cast.

"Great! Now I know why I'm not allowed to go outside with this on," she hissed to herself.

She felt like the Tin Man as she tried to move her leg, which clearly needed oil or something to make it move. She tried jabbing a sharp rock at the hinges, but only managed to chip the rock down to a stub. Groaning, she threw her hands in the air. "Am I really this hopeless?!"

The footsteps from earlier stopped, and a figure began to take shape in the dense fog that had begun to surface. "Who's there?" Marinette called in a panic, feeling like she was in a cliche horror movie.

"You just can't stop needing saving, can you?" the voice asked, the owner stepping into view.

"You!" Marinette said in surprise. "I didn't think you'd come." Then she registered his comment in her mind and instantly became defensive. "I am not a damsel in distress! I can handle myself," she growled, her eyes narrowing.

The blonde chuckled, kneeling beside her. "Which is exactly why I had to save you before, yes? And why you're stuck here, unable to move?"

Marinette didn't have a retort, she could only glare at him.

Smirking, the boy tapped her leg with his finger. "Well, you handled yourself for a while. I was impressed," he said honestly. "But this, how did this happen? Is your leg still not better?"

Marinette frowned. "Don't you have other questions for me than my leg? I know I have a ton for you. Starting with who you are and how you survived."

The boy smiled. "Don't worry, I have plenty for you. All in good time, I promise. But for now, why don't you come with me and I can fix your leg?"

Marinette shook her head quickly. "One, I don't know you well enough. I know you saved my life, but I'm not stupid. I don't want to make the hasty decision to trust someone that will abuse it. And two, I have to be back in the woods in 30 minutes. If I'm not, I'm stuck walking back to the infirmary, and I could get into a lot of trouble if they don't find me in my bed at eight o'clock sharp."

The blonde blinked at her. "Well . . . Those certainly are some very good points. However, allow me to make one of my own. Your leg seems immovable, and you're immobile until the metal hinges can be fixed. How about I take you back to where I'm staying to fix it up? You can interrogate me while I work, and I'll have you back in the woods in less than 30 minutes. Do we have a deal?"

Marinette frowned, considering the flaws in his plan. How did he expect to be done in only a half an hour? "Where is this location, exactly?" She asked suspiciously.

"Right down here," he pointed in the fog, seemingly to a random direction.

"Yeah, I'm going to believe that one," she rolled eyes. "Look, I appreciate your help, but it's not a good idea. I don't want to venture outside of the border, it's suicide. How have you been surviving anyways?!"

The boy shook his head, wagging a finger at her. "No questions until you let me fix your cast," he sang, and Marinette cringed.

"Okay, fine," she snapped, crossing her arms.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" he asked cheerfully. "Now let me get your satchel for you."

Marinette remembered the contents and blushed. She shoved it at him before he could get it over her arm. "It's for you," she quickly clarified. "As a thank you, for saving my life."

The boy blinked in surprise, his eyes traveling from the bag to her face. "Well thank you, miss. You didn't have to do that, but thank you."

"I wanted to," Marinette insisted. "Trust me."

The blonde smiled gratefully. Putting the satchel over his arm, he hooked his hands under her arms and slowly helped her to her feet. Once she was steady, he slung an arm around her shoulders and started leading her in the direction of the store.

"If you get me killed, I'll come back to haunt you, every day for the rest of your life," Marinette chirped suddenly. "But hopefully it won't come to that."

The boy was silent for a moment, before throwing his head back in laughter. "I'll keep that in mind," he winked. "But don't worry, I promise it's safe."

"Nothing outside of the border is safe," Marinette countered, barely missing a beat.

"Well, you will be with me," he assured her truthfully.

Marinette shrugged. "My statement still stands firm."

Laughing, he led her in the direction of the store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Don't worry, the drama will come soon! ;)


	6. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien finally figure out why the other looks so familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. This is technically the fifth chapter because of the prologue, though it's the sixth part. I'll be starting uni soon so updates will be far less frequent. Which is alright, because I'm not sure many of you are reading this anyways.

Adrien led Marinette in the direction of the superstore that he was residing in.

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Marinette demanded after only a few minutes of walking.

"To the superstore where I live," Adrien spared her a glance, trying to fight the grin on his face. She trying so hard to be tough . . . And she had no idea that he could kill her in the blink of an eye if he wanted to. Which, he, of course, didn’t.

Marinette squinted her eyes at him, before crying out and stopping her limping. "My leg," she managed to say through clenched teeth.

Adrien paused and glanced down at the metal cast, which was now fully stuck at the hinges. He could hear them squeaking as they tried to move, but the gears seemed to be jammed from the inside. "It might be more difficult than I thought," Adrien observed. "But it’s nothing I can’t fix. I might have to carry you, though."

Marinette furrowed her brow, ever the stubborn one. "I can walk myself—" She cut off abruptly when the hinges gave a loud squeak. "It’s got some of my skin," she said through clenched teeth, wincing in pain.

"I’m carrying you," Adrien decided, setting his mouth in a firm line.

Marinette opened her mouth to protest, but Adrien didn’t let her make another sound. He scooped her up, using one arm to support her midsection and the other to support her metal cast. Marinette glared at him but said nothing. Instead, she crossed her arms and pouted.

"You’re welcome," Adrien chuckled, beginning to walk again. “It’s not that much farther. I live relatively close to the border.”

Marinette furrowed her brow at "live." The boy lived in the superstore. How lucky he had been to find it . . . But he was all alone. She was the first person he had seen in years. A sudden stab of sympathy reached her heart, and she glanced up at the face of the boy who’d helped her so much already. He had a determined look on his face, a serious expression taking over his features. Marinette could tell that he was worn down, under his mask.

With his attention elsewhere, Marinette took the time to study his face and figure out why he looked so familiar. They still had yet to learn each other’s names, so maybe if she heard it she would remember? Frowning, she mulled over this thought as she continued to look over his face.

"Are you quite done checking me out yet?" Adrien asked in amusement, not even looking down at her.

Marinette sputtered, letting out a few awkward coughs. "I-I was not—That’s not what I was doing!" she said defensively.

"Of course it wasn't," Adrien replied, a smirk on his face.

Marinette grumbled something under her breath and focused her attention elsewhere, like where the hell he was taking her. They looked to be in the middle of a very deserted area, with almost nothing around but dead grass, the occasional charred tree, and an endless black sky. The stars rarely came out anymore, so it was nearly always pitch black at night. Even the moon was hidden a lot of the time, due to the pollution The Virus had caused in the Earth’s atmosphere. Marinette couldn’t help but think that even they were scared of The Virus.

Adrien suddenly quickened his pace, startling Marinette. She instinctively gripped his t-shirt with her small hands. Adrien glanced down at her, a knowing smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes, letting go in favor of crossing her arms again.

"We’re here," Adrien said finally, and Marinette turned her head to see a run-down superstore.

"T-This is where you’ve been living?" She asked, her heart overcome with sympathy.

"Yes," Adrien answered simply, shrugging. "It’s much better on the inside, trust me."

Pushing down her questions for the moment, Marinette nodded like she believed him. “Thanks for . . . carrying me,” she said, internally cringing. She hated acting like some sort of princess. If her cast hadn’t caught some of her injured skin inside the hinge, she would have gladly walked the rest of the way herself.

"Don’t mention it," Adrien said with a genuine smile, climbing over the cracked glass of the busted doors and stepping inside. He didn’t need security measures, for obvious reasons. He had the ability to kill anyone before they could even step a foot over the threshold. Plus, whatever animal made it inside became his dinner anyway.

He carried Marinette the rest of the way inside. He could feel her stiffen against him, her jaw going slack for a bit as she took in the large interior.

"You weren’t kidding," she commented after a few moments of silence.

Nearly every type of supply needed for survival was here. Decades of it, counting the supply rooms and employee areas. Adrien had access to clean water, food, bedding, hygiene, first aid . . . The list was endless. He had everything he needed, besides human contact.

"I got pretty lucky," Adrien muttered. Not counting the whole 'getting turned and losing everything he’d ever loved' aspect.

Marinette nodded, closing her mouth after realizing that it was open slightly in shock. "Can we, um," she gestured to her leg, and Adrien nodded quickly.

"Yeah sorry, let’s find you somewhere to sit down." He led her to the back, where he had arranged a bed for himself.

Marinette looked around with wide eyes as Adrien helped her sit on the large bed. It was straight out of one of those apocalyptic survival movies. Neither of them had expected it to actually come true.

Adrien disappeared for a moment, to get the tools he needed to fix her cast. Marinette waited in silence, staring at the satchel on the floor. She had left Tikki back at her ‘room,’ to not be suspicious. It was weird to not have the kwami by her side like she used to, but since the current state of the world, she hadn’t been able to transform. Not like Hawkmoth was akumatizing any zombies, but still.

Her thoughts drifted back to the boy, and his mysterious nature. Where had he come from? Why did he look familiar? How did he survive? How did he find this place? The questions bounced around inside her skull, creating the beginning of a painful headache. She made a note to ask him all of these and more while he fixed her leg. If he tried to push them off anymore, she would leave without telling him anything about herself as well. There was no way she could try to get close to someone who she knew nothing about. And she certainly wasn’t going to answer any questions until he answered hers. She may have followed him here, but she wasn’t stupid. She had plenty of secret ways to harm him if he tried to eat her or something.

Adrien came back a few minutes later, breaking her out of her intense thoughts. "Sorry I took so long," he apologized, kneeling on the floor by her leg, which was lying straight on the bed.

"It’s alright," Marinette said, watching him cautiously as he began pulling things out of a toolbox. "But if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you some questions while you do this."

"Questions?" Adrien asked in a calm tone. "Sure, go right ahead."

Inside, he was internally screaming. Of course, she would want to know about him. How was he going to lie his way out of everything? Fighting down his inner panic, he put on a calm façade.

"Let’s start with your name," Marinette began quickly, wasting no time. She didn’t have one moment to spare if she wanted to get back to the woods in time to get a ride back to the facility.

Adrien didn’t look at her as he began screwing with the gears on her cast. "Adrien."

Marinette’s heart thrummed in her chest at the word, a single, bass-like pulse. "A-Adrien?!" she whispered, her mind beginning to race. His name was Adrien, like . . . "Your last name," she demanded, eyes beginning to prick with tears.

Adrien heard the stress, which was apparent in her voice. "Agreste," he looked up at her finally, confused. "Why are you—"

"Marinette," she choked out. "M-My name is Marinette."

Now it was Adrien’s turn to gape at her. Marinette, as in . . . "Your last name," he demanded just as she had, tensing up.

"Dupain-Cheng," she nearly sobbed, tears now freely flowing down her cheeks. "M-Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Adrien dropped the tools he was holding, in favor of wrapping his arms around the sobbing girl. "Y-You," she choked out. "How did you . . . ?"

Adrien shushed her as tears began to stream down his own cheeks. "It’s me," he whispered, his miraculously still beating heart pounding in his chest. "I’m okay. I’m alive." Well, more or less.

"B-But how?!" Marinette exclaimed. "What happened? How did you survive? Where did it go wrong? What happened to the others?"

"Marinette," Adrien whispered. "I’ll explain everything."

Marinette was alive. She was okay, which meant that everyone else he used to know could be okay as well. How was he going to explain everything to her while leaving out the part where he was turned? Unless he told her . . .

No, he couldn’t do that. If he told her, she would go running for the hills. He may never see her again. He didn’t even know who she worked for anymore, anyways. If she had moved up a rank at her base, he would be in serious trouble. She could turn him in and they could do one of four things to him:

A) Banish him

B) Throw him into quarantine for experimentation and likely torture

C) Lock him in a cell

D) Kill him

All four of those options were equally unappealing. If they tried any of them, he would have to retaliate, and that could end with people being killed and Marinette hating him even more. But could he really keep this secret from her? She would have questions and suspicion. She was always a smart girl, so he couldn’t be able to fool her that easily.

There had to be an easy way to break the news to her without getting himself caught by the authorities on the West Side. If he could block of her exits while he told her, in case she freaked out . . . He mulled this over while Marinette wiped her eyes and looked at him expectantly.

"Let me fix your leg," he said gently, letting her go to grab his tools again. "Before you have to go."

Marinette opened her mouth to protest, then shut it into a firm line. "Alright," she agreed sullenly. "But please," she wiped her eyes again, which were still leaking with unshed tears. "Tell me everything. I-I finally found you after all these years."

"Of course," Adrien forced out, trying to give a reassuring smile amidst his inner panic. He felt incredibly guilty for acting like this towards his long-lost friend. But she would certainly think differently of him if she found out that he was a monster. And what of the creatures he’s killed, of the people he’d killed? Sure, they were few, but that didn’t justify the crimes.

_"I killed a few people Marinette, but don’t worry, there weren't that many."_

Yeah, that would go over well.

He continued spinning the gears on Marinette’s cast, trying to get the kinks out. Nerves crashed around inside of him, threatening to consume his thoughts and actions.

What if he lost control?

He had already smelled her blood before, so what if he caught it a second time and tried to kill her over it? His cravings for blood came in waves, usually when he was transformed or only half transformed. In his more humane form, like he was in now, his cravings were simmering under the surface of his skin, waiting to break out.

The fear of rejection, the fear of hurting the ones he cared about. They would drive his decisions. He didn’t want to be driven by fear, but he wasn’t left with much of a choice. He was lost, a lost cause. He had just found Marinette, yet somehow he felt as if he had lost her even more than before. It was impossible for things to work out given his condition.

Fighting back the paranoia and tears of panic, his hands shook as he roughly turned one of the gears. A pop was heard as it came loose, springing back into place. Sighing in relief, he looked up at her. "Just a few more to go." He swallowed nervously.

Marinette nodded numbly, still trying to process the events of that night. Adrien, her Adrien, was alive and well. He was here in front of her, so why were they both acting so weird? They should be jumping for joy. Something was wrong, and Marinette intended to find out what it was so she could immediately fix it.

"Can you answer my questions now?" she asked nervously. Something wasn't right. She studied his face, from his jawline all the way up to his deep green eyes. How had she not seen the resemblance to the boy she once fell in love with? She has found him familiar, but now that she knew who he really was, it seemed too obvious.

Adrien brushed some of his blonde hair off of his forehead, pushing it out of the way. It had grown significantly longer, slightly past his ears, but was still short enough for him. He usually cut it himself, with scissors. But lately, his strong hunger pains and more frequent transformations had made his hygiene techniques limited to showering and brushing his teeth.

"I’ll tell you everything you need. Just . . . Please be patient and promise you won’t hate me." He looked up at her pleadingly. Marinette, taken back, could only nod. Adrien took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly, before opening them again. "I don’t know how much time we have," he said suddenly. "I don’t have a working clock in here."

"You don’t have a clock?" Marinette asked, confused. Humans seemed to revolve around them, considering time was the enemy of them all.

"There was never a need for one. I was always alone, suffering it seemed. Every day began to feel the same," Adrien replied. "But I'm sure there's a clock isle in this store somewhere."

"Suffering?" Marinette asked in a small voice, her eyes widening.

Adrien quickly backtracked after he realized what he said. "No no, it’s not like what you’re thinking. I just . . . I’ll explain later, okay? However, I’m not sure we have much time right now. I’ve taken long enough as it is, and you have to get back to the woods to meet your shady ride."

"It’s not shady!" Marinette protested. "What’s shady is you finding this grocery store and living here for the past years since your disappearance. That’s what’s shady," she huffed defensively. Adrien clearly didn’t want to tell her what happened to his group, or how he was even alive. It hurt her, and she was letting off steam because of it.

"Hey, I’m sorry," he frowned, raising his free hand in defense. "I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I just don’t want to take up your time, I know your ride is waiting and you have to get back."

Marinette, fighting down her anger at his closed-off reproach, forced a smile. "Don’t worry about that. In fact, there’s someone I can call right now that still owes me a favor. So I’ll be able to stay much longer," she said, with a glint in her eye.

Adrien raised his eyebrow in surprise. “Oh . . . Alright!” He said with fake enthusiasm. What was wrong with him? Marinette was here, he should be happy! But he just couldn’t shake off the fear of her finding out what he really was. She would have to know eventually if she wanted to help him, but who said she did? Who said she would?

Marinette waited for Adrien to fix the other gear on her cast before checking the movement in her leg. "It feels much better, thank you," she said truthfully.

Adrien nodded with a forced smile and stepped away while she made a phone call. He waited in a different aisle of the store, pacing back and forth with his hands gripping his hair tightly.

Marinette waited for him to leave before dialing the number she wanted.

_"Hello?"_

"It’s Marinette. Remember that favor you owe me, from about six months ago?"

_"Ugh, I just knew I’d be hearing from you soon about it._

"Cut the crap Chloè. I thought we put past grudges behind us a few years ago?"

_"That doesn’t change the fact that you were always unnecessarily rude to Lila. You know we’ve been dating for nearly four years. If you want to be friends with me, you have to be nice to her."_

Marinette sighed. “In my defense, she did try to murder me during training." Upon hearing Chloè's annoyed sniff on the other end of the line, she caved. "Alright, I’ll apologize to her. But you still owe me a favor, either way.”

_"Fine. What do you need, anyway? Is there another body for me to hide?"_

Marinette glared at the phone. “What? That was one time! And it wasn’t like that, stop making me sound like a murderer.”

_"Whatever you say, Marinette. Just tell me what you need so I can get this over with."_

Marinette took a deep breath. “I need you to cover for me. Do you know where the rehabilitation and mental health buildings are located?”

_"You’re kidding, right?"_

"No. If you want to pay back your end of the deal, you’ll listen to what I have to say. Got it?"

_"Fine. Make this quick, people are going to get suspicious if I don’t show up for roll call."_

Marinette began explaining her situation, giving Chloè as little detail as to what she was doing as possible. "Have Alya help you if needed," she told her. "But that’s all for now."

_"For now?! God, Marinette! Why don’t you ask for an organ while you’re at it?"_

Marinette could hear the annoyance in the blonde girl’s voice. "Hey, I fulfilled my end of the deal, now you owe me. Do what I say if you want to be debt-free."

_"Ughhhh whatever! I have to go, I need time if I’m going to do this stupid favor."_

"You’re a real peach, Chloè," Marinette declared with a grin.

_"Oh shut up, Dupain-in-my-ass."_

The line went dead, and Marinette snickered. Hanging up the phone, she called out to Adrien. A few moments later, the blonde boy emerged from behind the shelves. "Ready?" she asked, making herself comfortable.

He took a seat by her and clasped his hands together. "Sure, let’s go with that," he muttered, sighing. "Alright, here goes nothing." He started telling his story, beginning with when he was sent on the mission with the other Eleven.

"We were all headed to the same place; the mountain in no man’s land across the East Side . . ." He began.

He knew Marinette would hate him, but he had to try. After all, she was his only hope. His only hope at finding his family, his friends, the other Eleven. His only hope at finding a place for himself after the world had turned him into a beast.

His only hope at finding a cure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Please leave kudos if you liked this! :) As always, thanks for reading.


	7. Story Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tells Marinette what happened when he and the other Eleven went to look for a cure. But everyone has their secrets, and Adrien is no different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Sooooo this chapter is mainly informative about what the hell happened to Adrien and the others. Hope you like it!

"We were all headed to the same place; the mountain in no man’s land across the East Side . . ." Adrien began. "Our mission was straightforward: Find the mythical flower and come back unharmed. Or at least, it seemed simple at the time." He swallowed thickly. "There were too many flaws in the plan." He stared down at his clasped fingers, tightening them until his knuckles turned white. 

"For one thing, we weren’t expecting the border to be occupied. We thought it was no man’s land, that we could make it through without the slightest problem. But oh, how we were wrong. Our second problem came with our weapons and supplies. We were under armed and only prepared for a strict amount of days. God forbid we got held up with something, we would have starved to death."

Marinette listened intently as Adrien spilled his story to her. She rubbed her hands together, suddenly realizing how cold she felt. What was the temperature in the room? It was freezing. How was Adrien not shivering in his light t-shirt?

"We were heading towards the border when we realized how flawed our plan was. By then, it was too late to turn back. As we were crossing one of the thresholds, we were attacked." He stopped then, his eyes glazing over. He sniffed once before continuing. His voice wavered.

"They seemed to come out of nowhere," he whispered. "The others and I, we were ripped from our cars. We were tossed violently to the ground, our supplies spilled and trampled. They stole our food and our blankets, then began to torture us. We were beaten to the pulp until we were bloody and bruised."

Adrien hadn’t realized he was crying. He continued on as the salty drops slid down his pale cheeks. "I can’t even begin to tell you how much it hurt, Marinette. Not just to be spat on and kicked and punched until I couldn’t even see, but to hear the screams of my companions—of my teammates. My friends; my brothers and sisters. It hurt so much, to know that they were suffering and I was completely and utterly helpless. We were at the mercy of beings that had no intention of showing us any at all."

"Adrien . . . I'm so sorry." Marinette wiped furiously at the tears on her cheeks. Though she wasn't ashamed to be crying, she felt that she didn't deserve to cry. He had gone through the hardship, not herself. She didn't have the right to cry over it. 

She assumed a crowd of infected attacked him, but she wanted to make sure. "Were they infected?" Her throat felt tight and constricted, and she almost regretted the question as it left her lips.

Adrien barely managed a nod. 

"I-I didn't think they traveled in groups," Marinette whispered, her voice shaking. Goosebumps prickled on her delicate flesh, not going unnoticed by Adrien. The thought that groups of infected were intelligent enough to group together caused a newfound sense of fear to rise within her. They had not only beaten Adrien and the others, but they had robbed them too. Just how much did The Virus affect their brains? 

Marinette was always told that infected individuals were grotesque creatures, resembling whatever had attacked her on clean-up duty three weeks prior. She assumed they were brain-dead, with no recollection of how to act human.

Clearly, she had been wrong.

"H-How did you get away?" Marinette finally asked. Her own eyes had misted over with tears again, her heart thumping almost painfully in her chest.

Adrien swallowed, avoiding her gaze. "I . . . ran."

Marinette furrowed her brow. "You ran? What do you mean? How did you heal yourself, how did you find this place? What about the other Eleven?"

"Gone."

 _Gone._ It was such a simple word, but it had so many meanings. Were they dead? Were they starving or freezing to death somewhere? Were they alone and frightened? Were they turned? The questions bounced around inside Marinette’s head, creating the recipe for a perfect headache. The bluenette looked into Adrien’s eyes again, but he wouldn’t look directly at her. Something was off.

"Why aren’t you looking at me? Why can’t you answer my questions?" She may have been a tad bit insensitive. Adrien was talking about the hardest thing he’d ever had to deal with, and here she was interrogating him. "Adrien . . . I’m so sorry," Marinette said softly. "I didn’t mean to be insensitive. I just have a lot of questions, that’s all. Since you’re the only survivor as of right now," she winced, "I’m asking you."

Adrien, who was trying very hard to keep calm, felt his resolve slowly draining from him. "I . . . understand," he replied, somewhat brokenly.

Marinette heard the choked-up tone and instantly moved closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Adrien? You know you don’t have to do this. We can discuss something else. I can talk to you first, okay? But I want you to know that you’re not in this alone. I’m going to help you as much as I can."

Oh Marinette, her sweet words were like music to his ears. But so was the beat of her heart. And with their now close proximity, he could hear it clear as day.

_**Thump. Thump. Thump.** _

The pulse was steady at first but seemed to increase its rate as Marinette’s hand reached his shoulder. They both flinched, as if a mutual shock passed from the palm of her hand to his skin. Adrien leaned away, trying to move out of range of her heartbeat. His attempts were futile.

_**Thump. Thump. Thump.** _

The thrum of her heartbeat invaded his brain. He felt his own infected heart, which had been slowed completely by the transformation, begin to pick up.

_**Thump. Thump. Thump.** _

"Adrien?"

Her sweet, melodic voice ripped him from his thoughts. He swallowed, scooting back even further from her. The rush of her blood through her veins pounded in his ears. He needed her to leave—and fast. If not, he didn’t know what he would do.

"M-Marinette," he said, through slightly clenched teeth. He didn’t need her finding out yet—she couldn’t find out yet. His teeth felt elongated already, and he didn’t need her to see that. "S-Shouldn’t you be going?"

Marinette flinched, leaning back in surprise. "What? But there’s so much we haven’t talked about! You didn’t finish your story and I didn’t finish mine—"

"Marinette," Adrien interrupted her. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the side of the seat he was sitting in. "I’m sorry, but you really have to go."

Marinette crosses her arms, leveling her gaze. _‘Now you’ve done it,’_ Adrien thought, mentally sighing.

"Oh sorry, am I bothering Mr. ‘I haven’t had human contact in forever?' My bad, I’ll take my leave," Marinette said sarcastically. "I can’t leave, Adrien. What’s wrong with you? We only just found each other! I— She cut off abruptly. Her eyes watered, and her bottom lip began to tremble.

 _‘Don't cry, don’t cry, don’t cry,’_ Adrien willed in his head. He could handle anything but more tears.

Well, that and the beating of her heart.

_**Thump. Thump. Thump.** _

He couldn’t take this.

"Marinette I—"

"Save it, Adrien. I just don’t understand. I finally found you and I don’t want to let you go again!" By this time, she was sobbing. She covered her mouth with her arm, trying to muffle her sobs.

A stab of guilt pierced Adrien’s heart. He reached his hand out, shakily, and took her into his arms. She wailed loudly, pressing her face into his chest. Her heartbeat thumped louder in his ears, and he felt a pain in his chest as their skin made contact. It had been so long . . . So long since he had last seen a human . . .

"I’m sorry Marinette," he managed to choke out. He struggled to speak calmly. "Listen to me very carefully, okay?" He was fighting tears himself. "There’s a lot we have to talk about before we can discuss helping each other. So for now, let’s work something out. You can come to visit me as soon as you can, but don’t make it suspicious that you’re leaving. Am I making myself clear? We need this to stay between us for now. Both of our lives depend on it."

Marinette lifted her head to look at him with watery eyes. "W-What? Why?"

"It’s too dangerous," Adrien said firmly. "Please, Marinette. You have to trust me." Tears of his own began sliding down his cheeks. He was finally reunited with her—with someone—and it wasn’t at all how he’d expected it to be. All because of his stupid transformation.

"But . . ." Marinette trailed off. A thought occurred to her and she quickly pressed her lips together. Adrien was right, oddly enough. He was supposed to be dead, or a drooling, horrifying creature. If she showed up with him all casually, everything was going to blow up. They’d both be quarantined, and no one would believe either of their stories. It would be a whole, big mess, and neither of them needed that right now.

And yet, the thought of leaving Adrien here all alone made Marinette physically sick.

Her sudden paleness must have shown, because Adrien rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her. "I promise we’ll get this all sorted out. I’ll be fine, okay? We’ll work through this together."

The very thought alone choked him up. He wasn’t by himself anymore. He had Marinette, and maybe things would finally be looking up for him.

But a dark cloud was looming over his head, and he wouldn’t be able to ignore it forever. He would have to tell Marinette he full story soon—including him being turned. He hoped he was at least was buying himself a little more time.

Marinette slowly pulled away, rubbing at her eyes with her sleeve. Adrien’s body visibly relaxed, the thrumming of her heart in his ears quieting slightly. He sighed, rubbing his face, trying to get the dampness dry. He caught her eyes again, and they both forced weak smiles.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked slowly.

"No, but I hope I’ll get there." Marinette laughed dryly.

"Me too," Adrien swallowed.

Marinette rubbed her face again, sighing deeply through her nose with her eyes closed. "I finally understand what you were saying before."

"You do?" Adrien asked hopefully.

Marinette nodded. "As happy as I am that we’re reunited, we need to be careful about what we’re doing. We could get caught before we’re ready." With a nod of confirmation from Adrien, she continued. "However, we need to plan our next move. Once I get back, I’m not going to have anyone to cover for me. And I’m . . . in a bit of trouble back at the base. So I need to be even more careful."

Adrien nodded in agreement, though he was slightly confused. Marinette, in trouble? That was strange to hear.

"What do you suggest?" Marinette asked him.

Adrien paused, pondering this thought. "Hmmm . . . We should wait at least a week, maybe even two. Just to be sure. I don’t want you getting in trouble or anything. Well, any more trouble."

Marinette made a noise of agreement. "That’s a good idea." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, sighing softly. "So . . . I guess I have to go now . . ."

This was way more awkward than Adrien thought. "I . . . I know this is going to be hard on both of us, but we’ll figure something out. Okay?" The beating of her heart was still steadily thrumming in his head, but the knowledge that she would be leaving calmed his inner struggle slightly. Ignoring the voice screaming in his thoughts, he pulled her in for one last hug.

Whatever was happening, whatever would happen, it was going to be one hell of a ride. It was funny, how two people who were finally reunited after so long could act as if they hadn’t even met each other in the first place. Hopefully, they would figure something out together. For now, they had to lay low.

And if they were really lucky, they would get over the feeling of being strangers. Considering the circumstances, both of their lives could very well depend on it.

Adrien didn’t know what would be worse, having Marinette with him and being tempted by her heartbeat, or being away from her for weeks. Either way, he knew one thing for certain.

No matter what happened, he would have to tell her his secret. Maybe even sooner than he thought. And something told him that she wasn’t going to like it, not one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Please leave kudos if you liked this! As always, thank you for reading.


	8. Reprimanded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya confronts Marinette about her reckless decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. Alya is such a good friend. :) This is the last chapter I had posted on Amino. The rest will be posted here especially for you guys for now! <3 I need a bit of a hiatus from that place, it's a bit toxic. Ugh. Anyways, I'm sorry for such a long wait. I have finals the next two weeks but after that, I will be posting regularly for a while.

“Sometimes I wonder what goes on inside your head.”

Marinette blinked at Alya, letting the blunt statement soak in. She had snuck across the border with Adrien’s help the night prior and slipped back into her room. Thanks to Chloé, she managed to do so undetected.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“You’ve been spacing out all morning, girl! I mean come on. You didn’t even eat your breakfast, and the Marinette I know would never pass up a warm, buttery croissant,” Alya stated.

Marinette frowned. “I guess I’ve just been really busy . . .”

“With what? It’s been only a short time since you were attacked, you’ve basically been on bedrest since then,” Alya said with a furrowed brow.

“Ah . . . I know,” Marinette said in a tone that made Alya truly believe that she had amnesia or something. “Well you know how things are,” she finished lamely.

The truth was, the secret that Adrien was alive and living in a superstore across the border was eating her alive. The secrecy of their meeting, the heartfelt goodbye, the secrets that were still being kept that she was smart enough to see. They were all burning a hole in her mind. She so desperately wanted to throw her arms around her best friend and tell her that Adrien was alive--and there was a possibility that Nino might be too. Their friends could be lurking anywhere on the border or the East Side; close enough but just out of reach.

_Adrien was alive._

Even as she thought the phrase then, she couldn’t comprehend it. He was alive and he appeared to be . . . mostly well. He was healthy, and breathing, and he was still the ball of sunshine and good looks that she remembered him to be. She had touched him, and she knew he was real because of that.

Sometimes her mind liked to play tricks on her. In the past, especially when The Eleven had first disappeared, her brain would fabricate illusions of her friends coming home. First, they would take the shape of dreams, then they would form into hologram-like images that she could just barely touch. Then came the nightmares, which were the worst of all. She would awaken out of a dead sleep, screaming and crying as if someone had stabbed her in the gut. She would lay in a paralysis state, her mouth open and wails escaping past her lips. After a while of screaming, she would throwback her covers and escape the bed, spending the rest of the night cuddled in the corner with her raggedy stuffed bear until someone came to comfort her.

She was constantly reprimanded by her superiors for her “childish visions,” but none of her peers dared to make fun of her. She was training to be one of the strongest in her rank, and no one wanted to piss her off. She was determined, headstrong, and hella brave. If anyone took a swing at her, she wouldn’t think twice before swinging back four times as hard.

But now that she knew Adrien was alive, she was torn.

How should she be reacting? Should she use it as motivation to train harder? Should she start developing a plan and working on her intellect so it was sharp and ready? Should she start stashing weapons in her room, and sneaking meals at dinner to pack and give to him? He appeared to have enough food for now, but she was certain that with time he would be running slim. Should she bring him blankets or pillows? Did he have anything to sleep on? Were there even mattresses in those types of stores? Marinette certainly hadn’t heard of the store before, so she was clueless as to what he did and didn’t have.

Of course, these were all excellent questions to ask Adrien himself. The boy would be able to answer them better than her spinning mind could. But it was risky to go and see him this soon after their last encounter. She needed to give herself time to comprehend everything that she had heard and seen.

Then, of course, there was the matter of patrols. As a soldier, she was expected to heal fast and report for duty even faster. If she didn’t, she would have a superior officer after her head. (Which, she was beginning to experience more and more lately.)

“Girl are you even listening to me? Hello? Earth to Marinette!”

Marinette was brought back to attention by Alya waving her hand in her face and repeatedly calling her name. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly when she saw the quizzical look her friend as giving her. “I spaced out again.”

“Yeah, no kidding!” Alya gave her an incredulous look. “As I was saying,” she continued with a dramatic sigh in Marinette’s direction, “rest up and continue to eat all your rations. If you don’t, I may just have to smack you,” Alya said seriously before both girls started laughing. “But seriously girl, what’s gotten into you? Ever since the attack you’ve been anti-social, constantly spacing out, giving your rations to the guys, and sleeping more and more. The Marinette I know is always chattering away, has her head in the game 25/8, never wastes one drop of food--especially on the boys--and is always getting exactly eight hours of sleep. No more, no less.” She studied her best friend with a resolved expression. “The attack must have really messed you up.”

Marinette looked away from the sincerity of her best friend’s gaze. “You have no idea,” she mumbled quietly.

It wasn’t just the attack, obviously, but Alya didn’t know this. Sighing and pulling Marinette into a hug, the auburn-haired girl pressed her chin onto Marinette’s head. “I’m here for you, girl. For whatever it’s worth. We’re in this together.”

Marinette forced a smile. Were they really in it together? There were so many things that she wanted to tell Alya--but she couldn’t. To her, that meant that they were on separate battlegrounds. They may have been both fighting the same external war, but only Marinette could fight the war that was raging on inside her head.

“Thanks Alya, that means a lot to me,” she managed to say.

“Of course girl, you can tell me anything. And I mean _anything_ ,” she emphasized, and for a moment Marinette felt a surge of fear. Did Alya know anything? “I’ll always be here for you.” She gave the girl a knowing smile, and that surge of fear was back like a tidal wave.

Trying to hide the inevitable panic that was slowly beginning to build inside of her, Marinette worked on reasoning with herself inside her head. There was no way Alya knew about Adrien, she wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret if she did find out. And even more pressing, Marinette’s head would have been on a silver platter for sneaking out. Her best friend was just being that--a good best friend. There were no ulterior motives or hidden intentions. It was just Alya being Alya. Simple as that.

Marinette, confident that she had surpassed the issue, opened her mouth to speak. But it was as if a switch had been flipped inside her brain, and she suddenly found herself sobbing into her hands.

“Marinette! What’s wrong?” Alya exclaimed, rubbing the girl’s back soothingly. “Hey, it’s okay! I’m here for you.” Her attempted reassurance was in vain, however, because it only made Marinette cry harder. “Is this about . . . him?” She asked quietly, not ceasing the comforting movements of her hand.

’He’s alive! He’s alive and he’s okay and the others could be alive too. We have to help them, Alya!’

But as much as she wanted to utter the words, she simply could not. So they bounced around inside her head instead, creating a tornado of thoughts and unsaid phrases.

“I-I . . .” The words wouldn’t form on her tongue. Her thoughts were much too loud, screaming at her in anguish.

“Sh, it’s okay. You don’t have to answer me yet if you don’t want to,” Alya said reassuringly. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“T-Thanks Alya,” Marinette managed to say, sniffling. She pressed her face into her best friend’s shoulder. “I just . . . I miss them so much.” Okay, so it wasn’t a complete lie. She did really miss all of her friends and teammates. She missed Adrien even though she had just found him. Was it possible to miss someone that she had finally gotten back? She missed Nino, with all of his playful banter. She missed every single one of The Eleven that had left, even those that she wasn’t familiar with.

“I miss them,” Marinette sobbed into Alya’s shoulder. “I miss them all so much.”

She missed Chat Noir. She missed him, she missed her partner.

She missed his puns, his laughter, his flirty and teasing nature. She missed his smile, his determination, his bravery, and his passion. She missed everything about him.

It’s true that you never really realize what you have until it’s gone.

“I miss them too, Mari,” Alya said sadly.

She suddenly came to the realization that she wasn’t alone in this. Alya was probably missing Nino just as much as she was missing Adrien and Chat.

Lifting her head, she wiped her tear-stained face with her sleeve. “What about you?” she piped up. “How are you holding up?”

Alya looked startled by the question. “Me?”

Marinette rolled her eyes playfully. “No, the other ‘you’ in this room. Seriously Alya, you’re always fussing over me but I feel like I don’t return the favour enough. So tell me, how are you holding up?”

“Well I . . . I guess I miss him,” she spoke in a defeated tone. “I miss him a lot.”

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that she was talking about Nino.

Marinette smiled weakly at her friend. “I miss him too. I miss all of them. And is it weird that I even miss the people I didn’t even know?”

Alya shook her head rapidly. “I do too! I thought I was the only one.”

Marinette sighed, running a hand through her messy hair. “I’m glad that I’m not alone in this.”

Alya hugged her again, sighing into Marinette’s hair. “Me too girl. Me too.”

Marinette tried to reassure herself that everything would be okay. She would focus on building her strength up and healing after her injury. She would focus on her mental and emotional improvement as well because she was coming to realize that they were equally as important. Then she would figure things out with Adrien again. She would eventually tell Alya, and her best friend would be pissed at her for putting herself in danger, but also happy that Adrien was okay. They would look for their other friends together. Then they would welcome them back into the West Side like nothing had ever gone wrong.

But everything was wrong with that fantasy. It would take her a while to heal, physically and emotionally. Figuring things out with Adrien would take a long time. And after so many years of scepticism, Marinette was certain that Alya wouldn’t welcome Adrien back so easily. No one would.

But if it was one thing she was certain of, she was going to find her friends. No matter what it took, she was going to find them. She had already found one, after all. In this crazy world, she was beginning to think that anything was possible.

One down, ten more to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.n. This seemed like a filler, but trust me when I say there is more drama and action coming! Thank you for the sweet comments, they really motivated me to get back to writing this. <3


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